Technical Abstract:
With the growth of large-scale, confined, commercial animal systems in the United States, management of the ensuing livestock waste has become a major source of environmental concern. For the swine industry, this waste is typically treated in large anaerobic lagoons. However, high levels of ammonia (NH3) may escape into the atmosphere by volatilization. Its subsequent deposition across the surrounding landscape can be a significant source of nitrogen non-point pollution in these areas. Biological removal of ammonia via nitrification is therefore a critical and often rate-limiting step in the removal of nitrogen as N2 through biological nitrification/denitrification systems. The discovery of bacterial populations capable of efficiently nitrifying high levels of ammonia at cold temperature represents a tremendous benefit to on-farm wastewater treatment systems. This study describes the identification and characterization of such bacterial populations.